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Lotus F1 team protests Mercedes' drag-reduction system

While many teams have voiced their concerns, Lotus F1 is the first team to officially protest the drag-reduction system in use by Mercedes. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Lotus F1 on Thursday filed a protest with the FIA in relation to the drag-reduction-system-operated “F-Duct” used by Mercedes in the first two races.

It is operated when the DRS wing flap opens and reveals a duct in the rear wing endplate, which is in turn connected to holes beneath the front wing.

When operated, it provides a straight-line speed boost all around the lap in qualifying and when DRS is activated behind another car in a race situation.

Lotus and Red Bull had been the teams which had been most vocal about the device. However, neither had taken any direct action until today, when Lotus paid the FIA a fee and filed an official protest on the grounds that it is a driver-operated aerodynamic device. In effect, it forces the FIA stewards to give a formal ruling on the matter.

Lotus director of engineering Alan Permane told Autoweek recently: “It's a secondary effect, but it's absolutely operated by the driver. Mercedes hasn't invented something. It was there, and other people were under the impression that it wasn't legal. If this is allowed, you'll see everyone doing it, and it won't stop there; there are many, many other things that can happen.”